656.5 mil. Fixed Broadband Connections Worldwide at the end of Q2 2013

London, UK, October 24, 2013--At the end of June 2013, there were 656.5m fixed broadband lines worldwide. This represents growth of 0.7% in the quarter, which is the slowest quarterly growth reported by Point Topic since 1998.

The key reason for this slowdown is a net reduction in the total number of broadband subscribers reported in China. Whilst China is posting exceptional growth in FTTH subscriber numbers, this has been offset by a reduction in DSL subscriptions. In total, China lost nearly half a million broadband subscribers in the quarter, as reported by the Chinese telecoms regulator.

7.7m copper broadband subscriptions have been lost so far in 2013, and the rate of decline is increasing. Nearly 25% of the world’s broadband subscriptions are now fibre connections, and more than 20m lines have been added in 2013 so far.  We are witnessing a significant shift in broadband technology adoption which continues to accelerate.

Figure 1: Global broadband subscriber numbers and net growth to Q2 2013. Source – Point Topic

Regional broadband subscriber market shares

There have been significant changes in the broadband subscriber numbers reported for the different regions. Growth in Q2 2013 in all regions has slowed relative to the last quarter, but the biggest slowdown has been reported in East Asia. East Asia has the largest broadband subscriber base in the world, and the slow growth in this market has had a significant impact on overall global growth rates.

This shift in East Asia has been caused by China, which reported a reduction in its overall broadband subscriber numbers in the quarter. Even though FTTH and FTTB subscriber numbers have grown rapidly in the quarter, this has not offset the reduction in DSL broadband subscriber numbers reported by the regulator.

North America has also seen a significant reduction in broadband subscriber growth, and is now falling behind Europe in terms of growth, subscriber volumes and population penetration. Whilst cable and fibre broadband solutions continue to grow in North America, more than half a million copper broadband lines were lost in the United States in the quarter.

Figure 2: Broadband subscriber regional market shares in Q2 2013. Source – Point Topic

Figure 3: Top 10 broadband subscriber countries in Q2 2013. Source – Point Topic